Downfall

The Intel Core i5-14600K paired with the AMD Radeon RX 9070 delivers a compelling performance profile in Downfall, a 2016 horror title that proves surprisingly demanding at higher settings. The measured data reveals a system that scales predictably with resolution and settings, but with distinct bottlenecks and strengths at each tier. This analysis breaks down the FPS measurements, component roles, and ranking data to provide a clear picture of what this combination offers.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is significant but not uniform across settings, revealing a complex relationship between the CPU and GPU. At Low settings, the transition from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160 sees average FPS fall from 291.3 to 132.9, a reduction of roughly 54%. This substantial drop indicates that even at the lowest graphical load, the GPU is still the primary driver of performance, though the CPU’s headroom at 1080p Low is evident in the near-300 FPS figure.

Moving to Medium settings, the scaling is similar in percentage terms: 240.9 FPS at 1080p drops to 171.7 at 1440p, then to 106.9 at 4K. The 1440p to 4K step is a 38% reduction, suggesting the GPU is beginning to hit its limits as pixel count increases. High settings show a steeper curve at the top end, with 195.4 FPS at 1080p, 143.2 at 1440p, and 90.1 at 4K. The 4K figure here is telling—it is the first point where the game drops below the 100 FPS mark, indicating that the combination of high detail and 4K resolution is a significant load.

Ultra settings present the most dramatic scaling. At 1080p, the combo still manages 124.6 FPS, but this falls to 88.8 at 1440p and plummets to 53.2 at 4K. The 1440p to 4K drop is a 40% decrease, and the absolute 4K figure of 53.2 FPS suggests the GPU is heavily taxed, likely due to the increased shading and texture work required at Ultra. The data implies that at 1080p and 1440p, the CPU provides ample performance headroom, but at 4K, the RX 9070 becomes the clear limiting component, especially under Ultra presets where the 53.2 FPS result is the lowest measured across all configurations.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-14600K is a 14-core, 20-thread processor based on the Raptor Lake architecture, running on the Intel Socket 1700 platform. Its base clock of 3.50 GHz and boost clock of 5.30 GHz provide substantial single-thread performance, which is critical for gaming workloads. In synthetic benchmarks, the CPU scores 32881 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 4642 in single-core, demonstrating strong overall capability. Its percentileVsAllCpus of 93 indicates it outperforms the vast majority of CPUs in the database, and its average benchmark score of 49166 places it in a tight race with rivals like the AMD Ryzen 9 5950X, which it trails by only 0.2%.

In the context of Downfall, the CPU’s role is best understood by examining the FPS at lower resolutions where the GPU is less stressed. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 291.3 FPS, a figure that suggests the CPU is not the bottleneck, as it comfortably feeds the GPU with frames. Even at 1080p Ultra, the 124.6 FPS result indicates the CPU can handle the increased draw calls and physics calculations without dropping below playable thresholds. The 14 cores and 20 threads may be overkill for a 2016 title, but the high boost clock ensures that single-threaded tasks, which often dominate in older games, are processed efficiently.

The data shows that the CPU’s influence wanes as resolution increases. At 4K, the FPS differences between settings (132.9 Low, 106.9 Medium, 90.1 High, 53.2 Ultra) are almost entirely GPU-driven, as the CPU’s frame production rate is far above what the GPU can render at that pixel count. This suggests that for Downfall, the i5-14600K provides sufficient headroom to avoid becoming a limiting factor, and its performance is more than adequate for this title’s requirements.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo if I want to stay above 60 FPS on Ultra settings?

A: The data shows that at 2560x1440 Ultra, the combo achieves 88.8 FPS, while at 3840x2160 Ultra it drops to 53.2 FPS. Therefore, 1440p is the highest resolution that keeps Ultra settings above 60 FPS.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its closest rival in the database?

A: The Intel Core i5-14600K has an average benchmark score of 49166, which is 0.2% lower than the AMD Ryzen 9 5950X’s score of 49062. This indicates they are statistically tied in overall performance.

Q: Is the GPU or CPU more responsible for the FPS drop from 1080p to 4K?

A: The FPS drop is primarily GPU-driven. At Low settings, 1080p yields 291.3 FPS while 4K yields 132.9, a 54% reduction that coincides with a fourfold increase in pixel count. The CPU’s performance remains constant, so the GPU is the limiting factor.

Q: What is the largest FPS gap between settings at a given resolution?

A: At 3840x2160, the gap between Low (132.9 FPS) and Ultra (53.2 FPS) is 79.7 FPS, which is the largest settings-based difference in the measured data.

Q: Does this combo rank high among all tested configurations?

A: The combo ranks 563rd out of 1741 tested combos for this game, placing it in the top 32% of all configurations, which is a strong showing for a mainstream CPU and GPU pairing.

Q: What is the FPS difference between High and Medium settings at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, High settings yield 143.2 FPS, while Medium yields 171.7 FPS, a difference of 28.5 FPS.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i5-14600K and AMD Radeon RX 9070 achieves a combo rank of 563 out of 1741 tested combos in Downfall. This places it in the 68th percentile of all configurations, indicating it outperforms the majority of systems tested. The rank is a composite of both CPU and GPU performance, and given the CPU’s 93rd percentile ranking and the GPU’s 79th percentile ranking, the combo’s overall position is consistent with its component strengths.

The rank suggests that this pairing is well-balanced for this game, with neither component dragging the other down significantly. The CPU’s high percentile ensures it does not bottleneck the GPU at lower resolutions, while the GPU’s solid performance allows for playable framerates up to 1440p Ultra. The 4K Ultra result of 53.2 FPS is the weak point, but this is expected given the GPU’s mid-tier positioning in the broader database. Compared to other combos, this system sits comfortably in the upper-middle tier, offering a good balance of resolution and settings capabilities without reaching the top echelon reserved for flagship CPUs and GPUs.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal experience depends on the target resolution. For 1920x1080, Ultra settings are viable, as the combo delivers 124.6 FPS, which is well above the typical 60 FPS threshold and provides a smooth experience for a horror game where frame pacing matters. If a higher refresh rate is preferred, Medium settings at 240.9 FPS or even Low at 291.3 FPS offer extremely high frame rates, though the visual trade-offs may not be worth the extra frames.

At 2560x1440, Ultra settings remain playable at 88.8 FPS, but High settings at 143.2 FPS provide a better balance between visual quality and performance, especially for a game that may have fast-moving scenes. The 1440p High setting is recommended as it maintains a high frame rate while preserving detail. At 3840x2160, Ultra is not recommended, as the 53.2 FPS result is below the 60 FPS target. High settings at 90.1 FPS are the best option for 4K, offering a playable experience without sacrificing too much visual fidelity. Medium at 106.9 FPS is also acceptable, but High provides better image quality for a minimal FPS cost.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive view of performance across all settings and resolutions. At 1920x1080, the combo achieves 291.3 FPS on Low, 240.9 FPS on Medium, 195.4 FPS on High, and 124.6 FPS on Ultra. These figures show a consistent decline as settings increase, with the largest drop occurring between High and Ultra, a 70.8 FPS difference.

At 2560x1440, the results are 211.7 FPS on Low, 171.7 FPS on Medium, 143.2 FPS on High, and 88.8 FPS on Ultra. The scaling is similar to 1080p, but the absolute values are lower, reflecting the increased GPU load. The gap between Medium and High is 28.5 FPS, while the gap between High and Ultra is 54.4 FPS, indicating that Ultra has a disproportionate performance cost.

At 3840x2160, the combo produces 132.9 FPS on Low, 106.9 FPS on Medium, 90.1 FPS on High, and 53.2 FPS on Ultra. The 4K results show the most pronounced settings sensitivity, with a 79.7 FPS difference between Low and Ultra. The 53.2 FPS Ultra result is the only measurement below 60 FPS, highlighting the GPU’s limitations at the highest settings and resolution. Across all resolutions, the data shows a clear pattern: Low and Medium settings are always above 100 FPS, High is above 90 FPS except at 4K where it hits 90.1, and Ultra is only above 60 FPS at 1080p and 1440p.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 9070 is built on the RDNA 4.0 architecture with a Navi 48 chip, fabricated on a 4 nm process by TSMC. It features 3584 shading units, 224 texture mapping units, and 128 raster operation pipelines, along with 56 ray tracing cores. The GPU operates at a base clock of 1330 MHz and a boost clock of 2520 MHz, with a game clock of 2070 MHz. It has 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 644.6 GB/s. Its FP32 performance is rated at 36.13 TFLOPS, and it supports DirectX 12 Ultimate, Vulkan 1.4, and OpenGL 4.6.

In Downfall, the GPU’s role is most evident at higher resolutions and settings. The 4K Ultra result of 53.2 FPS indicates that the GPU is the limiting component, as the 16 GB of VRAM is likely sufficient for the game’s textures, but the compute load of 4K Ultra exceeds the GPU’s throughput. The GPU’s percentileVsAllGpus of 79 shows it is above average, and its average benchmark score of 34780 is within 0.2% of the NVIDIA A2, indicating a competitive performance level. The GPU’s strong showings in synthetic tests like 3DMark Steel Nomad (6290) and Geekbench Vulkan (165532) suggest it has ample raw power, but the 4K Ultra result in this game reveals that this power is not enough for the most demanding settings.

The data implies that the RX 9070 is well-suited for 1080p and 1440p gaming, where it delivers high frame rates even at Ultra settings. However, at 4K, it is best paired with High settings or lower to maintain playable performance. The GPU’s 220 W TDP and dual-slot design suggest it is a power-hungry component, but its performance in this title shows it is a capable mid-to-high-end card that excels at mainstream resolutions.